Abstract
Probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Traditionally, dairy products are the major and most popular probiotic carriers. At present, there is a growing demand for non-dairy probiotic products. Both fermented and non-fermented non-dairy plant-based food products are becoming highly appealing to both dairy and non-dairy consumers worldwide. Non-dairy plant-based food matrices such as fruits, vegetables, plant-based milk, cereals, and legumes have been used successfully in producing probiotic products with the minimum recommended viable probiotic numbers at the time of consumption. However, due to the exclusion of dairy, whether these food matrices can enhance the functional properties of probiotics such as gastrointestinal survival and immune-enhancing effects needs a thorough investigation. Hence, this review focuses on some of the popular non-dairy plant-based probiotic food products and their microbiological quality characteristics in terms of maintaining probiotic viability during product storage. Their gastrointestinal tolerance in these products, other functional properties, and product qualities have also been briefly discussed.
Highlights
The utilization of beneficial microorganisms in health promotion has been practiced in the means of fermented dairy products such as sour milk, yoghurt, and cheese from many thousands of years [1]
The culture was comprised of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and the product was launched in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century
In a study conducted by Charalampopouls et al (2003), the gastric tolerance of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus reuteri delivered in wheat, malt, and barley extracts were assayed [69]
Summary
The utilization of beneficial microorganisms in health promotion has been practiced in the means of fermented dairy products such as sour milk, yoghurt, and cheese from many thousands of years [1]. The first formula for the deliberate administration of live LAB was a sour milk product based on a culture called la Lactobacilline isolated by Metchnikoff [2]. Probiotics can be defined as live microorganisms which, in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host [4]. These organisms have to be taken regularly at sufficiently higher levels. Since probiotic viability after consumption is mainly determined by their gastrointestinal tolerance, research on plant-based food products in the recent literature has been briefly discussed. Consumer acceptance of probiotic plant-based food products is largely determined by their quality characteristics. Sensory and physico-chemical properties have been briefly outlined to demonstrate the potential influence of these parameters on probiotic food intake and on survivability during gastrointestinal transit
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